Show and Substance
by i.paint.the.sky
Summary: K and Noriko meet late one night at the NG Office.  KNoriko pairing, yes I know it's on crack.  That's the point.


Show and Substance

The NG building was dark and empty, with even the custodians gone for the night. A blond man was admitted by the security guard, an unusual event at such a late hour. Hestormed through the hallways, bypassing the elevator to race down stairs instead, releasing pent up energy and emotion. Finally he reached his destination:the recording studios. But, to his surprise and annoyance, they weren't empty.

A lone figure sat inside the first room. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated on the wave of music running from her headphones. But soon she sensed she was being watched and her eyes found him. Taking the headphones off, she rose and walked towards him.

"Well, hello K. What brings you here at this ungodly hour of the night?"

"Noriko. I could ask you the same thing, but I'm sure you are only here to ruin my night."

"Oh, that's cold," she said, her hand wiping away an imaginary tear. "Why are you always so mean to me? What have I ever done to you?"

"Other than being a complete bitch and pain in the ass, nothing."

Noriko laughed. "Oh please, like you're any better, Mr. Big-Shot, Blond American. I'm shocked that none of Bad Luck has died from the stress of working with you, let alone all those random bullets. Anyway, you didn't answer my question. What are you doing here? The studio's usually deserted this time of night."

"I'm here to work. That's all you need to know." K walked past her, heading towards a different studio.

She followed him down the hall. "So now you're going off to sulk?"

He turned around, glaring. "I'm not sulking. I just want to get away from all unwelcome distractions."

"You're sulking. Trust me, I know, I have a daughter."

"And I have a son. So what?"

"So I can tell that you're sulking. Now why don't you stop acting like a child and actually face up to why you're so upset?"

"I'm not upset," he said in a low voice, turning away from her once again.

"Of course you are. You've never been this mean to me before. And I've never known you to shut yourself up in a dark room by yourself."

"Yes, well, that shows how well you know me then," K entered a studio, slamming the door behind him.

"Fine!" Noriko yelled after him. "That's just fine! Why should I care anyway? I can't imagine it's that big a deal anyway, you probably ran out of ammunition or something stupid like that. Idiot. You're all show and absolutely no substance!"

She started to walk away but was interrupted by the door opening behind her.

"That's how you see me?"

She spun around, ready to continue the confrontation, but that feeling quickly left when she saw K, looking deadly serious for probably the first time she could remember.

"Well…yeah, I guess. As you said, I don't really know you. All I see is this lovely image of the psycho American producer who speaks English at random and has more guns than should be humanly possible."

K laughed bitterly at that. "Yes well, at least I'm not a spoiled diva drama queen who pretends that she's still some cute teenage girl and acts as if everything is a joke. If anyone is lacking substance here, I think it's you."

"You should know the difference between a persona and an actual person. Yes, I like to play around and have a good time, but who doesn't? But you know what I don't care what you think anyway. Maybe you were right, I should just leave you to your sulking and continue my own work, this obviously isn't getting us anywhere." Once again, Noriko began walking back to the studio she had been in. And once again, she was interrupted.

"Perhaps I am sulking."

She froze mid-stride, then asked without turning around, "And why would that be?"

"My wife."

At that, she did turn around, smiling. "Ah, women trouble. Well, that I can understand. You straight men, you must be insane...not that the gay ones are any better."

"Don't joke about this," he said harshly.

"Fine, fine, tell Nori-chan what's wrong?"

He glared at her again, before answering. "Well, I'm American…"

"Really? I hadn't noticed that."

"If you're not going to shut up and listen, then go away."

"Sorry. I couldn't help myself," she said jokingly, before composing herself. "Go on."

"So," he continued, his manner showing that he didn't quite know why he was telling Ukai Noriko of all people, "my wife and son are in America, while I'm here. This sometimes causes some tensions."

"Ah. Well, that's understandable, the distance is rather long."

"Yes. Tonight, Judy asked me to quit my job here and move back home."

Noriko's eyes widened. "And you don't want to?"

"Of course not. I have a good career going here, with Bad Luck, one day they'll be the greatest band Japan has ever known, even bigger than Nittle Grasper."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far, but yeah, they could be great," she said, then paused. "But she's your wife and I assume you love her…"

He looked at her in shock and indignation. "Of course I love her, but it's my life and it's here."

"If you had let me continue, I was about to say that because you love her you should spend all the moments you can with her, because you never know when something might happen and it could all end!" Noriko turned away, no longer smiling.

K stood there, silently watching her, before moving a bit closer. "It looks like I'm not the only one with problems."

She turned back, eyes bright and blinking. "Of course you aren't, everyone always has problems. With me, it's just…well, you've met my husband and know that he's quite a bit older than me. So I know that some day, he's going to die and I'll be left alone and I think it's a waste to not spend all the time you can with someone because you never know how much longer it will last."

"So why are you here tonight?"

"I…" she started, then sighed while turning to rest her back on the wall. "It's a long story."

K moved to stand beside her. "I have time, since it doesn't seem that I'm going to be able to work in peace after all."

Noriko stood perfectly still for a moment, head facing forward though her eyes were on him. "It pretty much comes down to the age difference once again…I just, well…"

"Have needs that he can't fulfill?"

"Exactly. And I know it sounds horrible to say it, but it's true. Most of the time, I'm fine with it, but sometimes…I love Tetsuya so much but sometimes I wish that he was ten years, twenty years younger."

"At least he's here with you. There's a whole ocean between my wife and I, when do you think I last had sex?"

They stood in silence after that, eyeing each other warily, knowing that they were both thinking the same thing.

"Well, I think I…"

"Noriko…"

Before she could even begin to leave, K blocked her path. And then they were kissing, lips pressed against each other, tongues rushing to touch, arms wrapping around bodies. They walked into the nearest studio together, closing the door behind them…

It wasn't until much later that they both reappeared, straightening hair and clothes.

"That was…interesting," Noriko said, checking her make-up.

"Yes, most interesting. And relieving, in a way…but other than that…"

"It means nothing, I know. I love my husband, you love your wife, we go back to them at the end of the day. Sex can be just sex. But this has been an enlightening experience, to say the least. I was wrong about what I said before, you do have depth…you just hide it very well."

"I could say the same for you."

"Yes, yes you could. Anyway, I have a bit more work to do and then I'm going home. I expect that you'll do the same."

"Yeah, I should probably phone Judy and try to figure this situation out. Maybe I can take a break and go home."

"That sounds good. Well, I suppose this is goodnight, I'll see you tomorrow," she said before walking over and kissing K on the cheek. Then she walked off towards her studio.

With a smile, he turned around and walked off to his.


End file.
